The US has begun naval exercises with Japan and India, with the US Navy saying the drills will help the countries tackle maritime threats in the Asia-Pacific region. China says it hopes the cooperation isn’t aimed against a “third country.”
The US Navy, the Indian Navy, and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) began the Malabar 2017 exercises in Chennai, India, on Sunday, according to the US Pacific Fleet.

The annual drills are aimed at addressing “the variety of shared threats to maritime security in the Indo-Asia Pacific,” the Navy said last week.